Breed Standards & History

Dog Health

Toller History

Originally known as the Little River Duck Dog in its home of the Little River District of Nova Scotia, the modern Toller gotits present name in 1945 when it was recognized by the Canadian Kennel Club registry. As usual, the exact origin of the breed is lost, but a dog resembling the present-day Toller was seen in 17th Century Europe, luring waterfowl into nets. Whether the Toller originated from these dogs or was developed from a combination of the Flatcoat Retriever, brown Cocker Spaniels, Brittany, Irish Setters, farm collie, Golden Retriever and Chesapeake Bay Retrievers are among the breeds heritage.

The Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever first came to Great Britian in 1988 when there was one imported from Canada. Since that time there have been many more imported to strengthen the British gene pool from Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Croatia, Poland and the list goes on.

Some people will tell you that the Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever is the best all round dog you can have. They are an extremely intelligent and energetic dog. You should be willing and able to keep them fit and their minds stimulated. They are great companions, sensible and devoted to their families.

Other common names: Toller, duck dog, decoy dog, little river duck dog and NSDTR for short.

Tollers are the smallest waterfowl retriever available and they are specialists in, you guessed it, tolling. The Tollers are one of the smallest retreivers in the gundog group.

To “Toll” in duck hunting means to lure the ducks in.

Waterfowl hunters generally wait in a blind for ducks or geese to be lured into gunshot range. Hunters fortunate enough to have a Toller along can hasten the process by using the dog’s playful antics to catch the attention of inquisitive birds.

The hunter tosses a small inconspicuous object from his duck blind parallel to the shore. The dog retrieves with great enthusiasm, tail wagging, and feet dancing occasionally disappearing from sight and then quickly reappearing.

The flashy white markings on his chest, feet, and tail-tip accentuate the effect as he retrieves time after time, luring the birds closer and closer to shore to get a better look at this remarkable performance. When the birds are close enough, the hunter is able to shoot, sometimes having to shoot in the air first just to flare the ducks off the water to shoot the birds in a sport-like manner.

The ducks lure towards this fox like dog as they are meant to have a natural dislike for foxes and want to protect thier young.

The toller has not taken off it this country as a gundog yet, but all toller owners will tell you the same thing , once owned you'll never change your mind. This little dog not only captures your mind but also your heart.

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